cpadmin@publicbroadcasting.netNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94As NPR's correspondent covering campaign finance and lobbying, Peter Overby totes around a business card that reads Power, Money NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Peter OverbyWed, 03 Aug 2016 15:34:33 +0000Peter Overbyhttp://kuer.org
Peter OverbyEven before Hillary Clinton chose him as her vice presidential running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine was on TV, explaining how he had been completely open about gifts and free travel he had accepted between 2006 and 2010 as the state's governor."The key was disclosure," he said on MSNBC, "and nobody's ever raised a concern that anybody who contributed, whether a campaign contributor or a gift giver, ever got anything for it."Kaine was referring to more than $160,000 in gifts and trips – from basketball tickets to a trip to the Caribbean — which he accepted as governor-elect and governor. All of it was properly reported under state disclosure laws, but in this election, when liberals and conservatives alike are declaring "the system is rigged," disclosure may no longer be the key.For Democrats, here's the problem: They have treated this as a question of complying with Virginia's famously weak disclosure laws, which Kaine did. But a ferocious contest for the White House is no place forBasketball Tickets, Caribbean Travel. Is Disclosure Enough For Kaine's Gifts?http://kuer.org/post/basketball-tickets-caribbean-travel-disclosure-enough-kaines-gifts
81069 as http://kuer.orgWed, 03 Aug 2016 12:31:00 +0000Basketball Tickets, Caribbean Travel. Is Disclosure Enough For Kaine's Gifts?Peter OverbyCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.Tim Kaine Suffers Backlash Over Acceptance Of Political Giftshttp://kuer.org/post/tim-kaine-suffers-backlash-over-acceptance-political-gifts
81041 as http://kuer.orgTue, 02 Aug 2016 20:32:00 +0000Tim Kaine Suffers Backlash Over Acceptance Of Political GiftsPeter OverbyDonald Trump's presidential fundraising produced its first strong numbers for a big-budget fall campaign last month, but the financial powerhouse backing Hillary Clinton continued to hold a strong lead.Team Clinton outraised Team Trump $146.3 million to $81.1 million. Cash-on-hand totals were also lopsided: $139.2 million to $61.4 million. These totals include activity by the candidate committees, national party committees, joint fundraising committees and supporting superPACs.The mandatory monthly reports were filed last night at the Federal Election Commission.Trump's numbers show a dramatic jump from May. His campaign committee finished that month with $1.3 million in the bank. On June 30 it had $20.2 million.The reports also showed that Trump fulfilled his pledge to cancel campaign loans worth $47.5 million. He lent the money to underwrite most of his primary campaign. He and his aides said for months he wouldn't seek repayment.The reports from the Clinton committees put her inClinton's Fundraising Outpaces Trump's As The General Election Season Beginshttp://kuer.org/post/clintons-fundraising-outpaces-trumps-general-election-season-begins
80497 as http://kuer.orgThu, 21 Jul 2016 14:46:00 +0000Clinton's Fundraising Outpaces Trump's As The General Election Season BeginsPeter OverbyDonald Trump predicted his June fundraising would look good – especially compared to an anemic May, which he finished with just $1.3 million on hand. And June is looking better, bolstered by the first disclosure filings Friday night from two new joint fundraising committees.Trump Victory reported raising $25.7 million between late May and June 30, but it transferred just $2.2 million to Trump's campaign committee and about $10 million to the RNC.While the report from Trump Victory shows a fundraising operation that is beginning to step up, it continues to be vastly outpaced by his Democratic rivals. The Hillary Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee with the Democratic National Committee, raised $81.6 million and transferred $20.7 million to Clinton's campaign account.More than 62 percent of Trump Victory funds came from a group of 64 individuals and organizations that gave at least $100,000 each. High-end donors included investor and early Trump endorser Carl Icahn and his wife,Trump And RNC Raise $32 Million While Clinton And DNC Bring In $81 Millionhttp://kuer.org/post/trump-and-rnc-raise-32-million-while-clinton-and-dnc-bring-81-million
80301 as http://kuer.orgSat, 16 Jul 2016 18:52:00 +0000Trump And RNC Raise $32 Million While Clinton And DNC Bring In $81 MillionPeter OverbyForeign money in American politics. The phrase suggests secret payments, maybe briefcases stuffed with cash, or dinners of fine food and oblique conversation.Or spam."Mr. Speaker, members of Parliament are being bombarded with electronic communications from Team Trump, on behalf of somebody called Donald Trump."Sir Roger Gale, MP, was among the hundreds of legislators, from the United Kingdom to Iceland to Australia, whose inboxes had received unwanted fundraising emails from the Trump campaign.Gale continued: "Mr. Speaker, I'm all in favor of free speech, but I don't see why colleagues on either side of the house should be subjected to intemperate spam." He asked if the House of Commons IT staff could please make it stop.Speaker John Bercow sympathized, saying he didn't consider it acceptable for members to be getting "emails of which the content is offensive."Inevitably, lawyers mobilized. The email service provider cut off Trump's email consultant, who had supplied the list. AndCitizens United Muddles What Is Legal In Trump's Foreign Money Casehttp://kuer.org/post/citizens-united-muddles-what-legal-trumps-foreign-money-case
80277 as http://kuer.orgSat, 16 Jul 2016 11:00:00 +0000Citizens United Muddles What Is Legal In Trump's Foreign Money CasePeter OverbyPresidential nominees choose vice presidential running mates for what they add to the ticket, whether it be experience or the capacity to draw votes. Here's what Mike Pence might subtract from this fall's Republican ticket with Donald Trump: an unknowable amount of campaign cash from the financial services industry.As governor of Indiana, Pence oversees state agencies that handle pension investments and municipal bonds. Federal pay-to-play rules impose harsh penalties on financial services firms if their employees solicit or make significant campaign contributions to local or state officials – such as Mike Pence.With Pence on the ticket, "it creates a significant hurdle to raising money from Wall Street firms," said campaign finance lawyer Ken Gross, whose clients include some of those firms.Pay-to-play rules hurt then-governor Rick Perry of Texas in the 2012 Republican primaries, and they helped turn nominee Mitt Romney against choosing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for ViceHow Picking Mike Pence As VP Might Cost The Trump Campaign Donationshttp://kuer.org/post/how-picking-mike-pence-vp-might-cost-trump-campaign-donations
80273 as http://kuer.orgSat, 16 Jul 2016 09:00:00 +0000How Picking Mike Pence As VP Might Cost The Trump Campaign DonationsPeter OverbyThree-year-old allegations of political influence at the Internal Revenue Service are being revived as two House committees move toward punishing the IRS commissioner, John Koskinen.The House Oversight Committee this week voted on party lines to censure Koskinen. The House Judiciary Committee holds its second hearing next week on whether to impeach him."This all started with the IRS using its authorities to target certain conservative groups for their beliefs," Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said in prepared testimony to the Judiciary panel.This has been the accusation against the IRS since 2013, when Lois Lerner — head of the office that reviewed applications for tax-exempt status — admitted that the agency put additional scrutiny into the applications for nonprofit tax status of conservative and Tea Party groups.Since the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision, politically active nonprofit groups have proliferated. The nonprofit tax status shields suchCourt Documents Show The IRS Focused Scrutiny On Conservative Groupshttp://kuer.org/post/court-documents-show-irs-focused-scrutiny-conservative-groups
79091 as http://kuer.orgFri, 17 Jun 2016 18:45:00 +0000Court Documents Show The IRS Focused Scrutiny On Conservative GroupsPeter OverbyNo other major party presidential candidate has ever made it through primary season financing a campaign the way Bernie Sanders has. The Vermont senator and self-described Democratic socialist did not throw swanky receptions to court donors who could write $2,700 checks, the limit allowed by law. Nor did Sanders encourage wealthy friends to launch a superPAC funded with unlimited contributions.Instead, he relied on donors who gave small amounts online, over and over.An unusual and recurring element of Sanders' boisterous rallies has been the recitation of the finance report. That's when Sanders boasts of the millions of individual contributions his campaign received, with the crowd roaring, "Twenty-seven dollars!" — the average donation amount, and a remarkably low number in campaign finance circles."What is revolutionary about that," Sanders said at a rally last month in Kentucky, "is we have shown the world that we can run a winning national campaign without being dependent onWill The Millions Of People Who Gave Money To Bernie Sanders Give To Democrats?http://kuer.org/post/will-future-candidates-be-able-raise-money-sanders-way
79012 as http://kuer.orgWed, 15 Jun 2016 20:28:00 +0000Will The Millions Of People Who Gave Money To Bernie Sanders Give To Democrats?Peter OverbyAs Donald Trump prepares to accept the Republican nomination, just over eight weeks away, he's let it be known he thinks the nominating conventions are boring.He's right. Every nominee since 1980 has been known before the opening gavel. Floor fights are nearly extinct. The TV audience is dwindling.Trump wants a flashier GOP convention. But the event already has its own controversy, because of the nominee himself.It's about money.This spring, several progressive groups said Coca-Cola, Microsoft and a few other big corporations should retract $100,000 contributions pledged for the Republican convention in Cleveland.The progressive groups said the money would help promote Trump, thus compromising the corporations' own policies not to discriminate."They can't be out there professing their commitment to those core values, when they end up making decisions to align their brand with Trump's racist and sexist campaign," said Murshad Zaheed, political director of Credo Action. "They can't haveCorporate Funds Pledged For Republican Convention Under Firehttp://kuer.org/post/corporate-funds-pledged-republican-convention-under-fire
78078 as http://kuer.orgSun, 22 May 2016 10:02:00 +0000Corporate Funds Pledged For Republican Convention Under FirePeter OverbyAfter months of bashing the Republican National Committee and big fundraisers, Donald Trump is getting on board."These are highly sophisticated killers, and when they give $5 million, or $2 million or $1 million to Jeb [Bush], they have him just like a puppet," Trump said at the Iowa State Fair last year. "He'll do whatever they want. He is their puppet."But now the de facto GOP nominee has inked two joint fundraising agreements with the RNC and 11 state parties on Tuesday to start taking in enormous checks from big donors.The shift comes as Republicans are preparing to go into November with Trump at the top of the ticket. The proceeds will be used to "expand the robust ground, data, and digital operation we have in place to elect Republicans up and down the ballot," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement.This is about big donorsThe fundraising agreements are a big shift for Trump. In his announcement speech last year, he boasted that "I'm really rich" and didn't need big'Highly Sophisticated Killers' No More. Trump Embraces Big Donorshttp://kuer.org/post/highly-sophisticated-killers-no-more-trump-embraces-big-donors
77941 as http://kuer.orgWed, 18 May 2016 21:14:00 +0000'Highly Sophisticated Killers' No More. Trump Embraces Big DonorsPeter OverbyContested primaries in both political parties have led to another cycle of record political ad spending, according to a new analysis of campaign advertising by the Wesleyan Media Project.The analysis, which covers ads from Jan. 1, 2015, through May 8, 2016, tallies $408 million in ad spending compared to $120 million in 2012 when President Obama sought re-election.Updated at 3 p.m. ET with details:Bernie Sanders has spent more money — $73.7 million — to air more ads than any other presidential candidate. So far, he's aired 124,732 ads, with 99.9 percent of them produced by the campaign. Hillary Clinton ranked second at $62.6 million with 105,376 ads, 99.4 percent of them from the Clinton campaign. On the Republican side, just 24 percent of the ad spending came directly from the candidates' campaigns with the remainder coming from outside groups, such as superPACs.De facto Republican nominee Donald Trump aired 33,050 ad spots in that period costing $18.5 million. That's less thanPolitical Ad Spending Way Up From 2012http://kuer.org/post/political-ad-spending-way-2012
77739 as http://kuer.orgFri, 13 May 2016 16:23:00 +0000Political Ad Spending Way Up From 2012Peter OverbyWith Bernie Sanders lopping hundreds of staffers from his campaign this week, it's easy to forget he has outraised and outspent Hillary Clinton every month this year. And not by just a little.Sanders described his campaign as the "underdog" early on, but it certainly hasn't been the case the past three months. Federal Election Commission reports for January, February and March of 2016 show Sanders outspending Clinton by more than 50 percent, $121.6 million to $80.2 million.We know where those additional Bernie dollars came from: legions of small donors. The Campaign Finance Institute calculated that in February, the Sanders campaign raised 56 percent of his money from donors contributing $200 or less and 12 percent from donors giving 1,000 or more. Corresponding numbers for Clinton are 21 and 64 percent.So how did Sanders spend all those Bernie dollars? NPR decided to focus on the month of March, which had the latest data available and was the most intense month of the primary season,Sanders Campaign Has Spent 50 Percent More Than Clinton In 2016http://kuer.org/post/sanders-campaign-has-spent-50-percent-more-clinton-2016
77143 as http://kuer.orgFri, 29 Apr 2016 09:00:00 +0000Sanders Campaign Has Spent 50 Percent More Than Clinton In 2016Peter OverbyOrganizing for Action, the grass-roots network born from the Obama campaigns, is now deep in the battle over confirming the president's nominee to the Supreme Court. These days, OFA is a nonprofit that organizes on progressive issues and trains future grass-roots gurus."You know this is very much an organization that is led by people out in their communities who care about the issues of the day," said Buffy Wicks, a member of OFA's board of advisers and a veteran of Obama's two presidential campaigns and his White House.Wicks and others at OFA said volunteers can choose their issues, in a bottom-up organization with more than 250 chapters that have considerable autonomy. Still, and not surprisingly, those issues tend to follow the Obama agenda — "things like the Supreme Court vacancy, climate change, you know, gun violence," Wicks said.OFA allied with the League of Conservation Voters recently in Wisconsin, for a demonstration against Republican Sen. Ron Johnson. The event was part ofGrass-Roots Group Born Of Obama Campaign Now Helps Push His Causeshttp://kuer.org/post/grassroots-group-born-obama-campaign-now-helps-push-his-causes
76576 as http://kuer.orgFri, 15 Apr 2016 09:25:00 +0000Grass-Roots Group Born Of Obama Campaign Now Helps Push His CausesPeter OverbyThe politicians who would be president have a lot to say about money, at least when they're soliciting it.They and their sidekick superPACs have raised a combined total of around $1 billion, according to NPR calculations from data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.But when it's time for a TV debate, the candidates aren't so eager to expound on their fundraising, the big donors they court for superPACs, or the legal rulings that give the wealthy more avenues for giving.A new analysis by the liberal advocacy group Public Citizen finds that Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump accounted for 92 percent of all commentary about political money and special interests in the 21 presidential primary debates through March 24.The analysis, called The Elephant in the Room, also found that Sanders, Clinton and Trump were also the only candidates to talk about repairing a campaign finance system that has unexpectedly become a flashpoint for voter anger in thisTV Debates Light On Political Money Talkhttp://kuer.org/post/tv-debates-light-political-money-talk
76218 as http://kuer.orgFri, 08 Apr 2016 11:17:00 +0000TV Debates Light On Political Money TalkPeter OverbyThe politicians who would be president have a lot to say about money, at least when they're soliciting it.They and their sidekick superPACs have raised a combined total of around $1 billion, according to NPR calculations from data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.But when it's time for a TV debate, the candidates aren't so eager to expound on their fundraising, the big donors they court for superPACs, or the legal rulings that give the wealthy more avenues for giving.A new analysis by the liberal advocacy group Public Citizen finds that Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump accounted for 92 percent of all commentary about political money and special interests in the 21 presidential primary debates through March 24.The analysis, called The Elephant in the Room, also found that Sanders, Clinton and Trump were also the only candidates to talk about repairing a campaign finance system that has unexpectedly become a flashpoint for voter anger in thisTV Debates Light On Political Money Talkhttp://kuer.org/post/tv-debates-light-political-money-talk-0
76219 as http://kuer.orgFri, 08 Apr 2016 11:17:00 +0000TV Debates Light On Political Money TalkPeter OverbyIt was raining lightly when marchers of the Democracy Spring coalition set out Saturday, trudging past Independence Hall in Philadelphia on their way south toward Washington, D.C."I came on the train. Two days. Slept in the train station last night," Miram Kashia said, laughing. A self-proclaimed climate action warrior, she traveled from North Liberty, Iowa. She blamed political money's influence for blocking action on the climate, and added, "I'm retired but it's a full time job for me, being an activist."The issue of money in politics is hotter this year than in any presidential election since Watergate. Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both call for public funding designed to give small donors more power.And campaign finance reform has gone grass roots. Since the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision in 2010 — the ruling that let corporations and unions spend to promote or attack candidates — there have been marches, petitions, municipalOnce Ruled By Washington Insiders, Campaign Finance Reform Goes Grass Rootshttp://kuer.org/post/once-ruled-washington-insiders-campaign-finance-reform-goes-grassroots
76069 as http://kuer.orgMon, 04 Apr 2016 20:28:00 +0000Once Ruled By Washington Insiders, Campaign Finance Reform Goes Grass RootsPeter OverbyCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: And there may be a rough-and-tumble presidential election underway, but there is still plenty of room for a battle over President Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland. Always, the nomination of a Supreme Court justice brings out armies of advocates for and against. Their messages flow into senators' offices and onto the airwaves in many states, NPR's Peter Overby has more.PETER OVERBY, BYLINE: The first attack ad went up before there even was a nominee.(SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD)UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: Tell your senator Jane Kelly doesn't belong on the Supreme Court.OVERBY: That was from the conservative group Judicial Crisis Network. Jane Kelly's a federal appeals judge. She was on a White House list of possible nominees. She's also from Iowa just like Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, who's in charge of the confirmation process and has vowed not to consider any nominee before the election. As for whether the adConservatives Lobby Around Supreme Court Nominationhttp://kuer.org/post/conservatives-lobby-around-supreme-court-nomination
75313 as http://kuer.orgThu, 17 Mar 2016 10:10:00 +0000Conservatives Lobby Around Supreme Court NominationPeter OverbyIt's never clear what the truth is when a campaign ends, but it gets ugly.Major fundraisers are among the people who are key in creating a campaign. And when campaigns fold, they talk sometimes — usually in blind quotes.But one of the funders, who helped raise millions of dollars for a superPAC supporting Jeb Bush, talked on the record with NPR's Morning Edition -- and gave his version of what he felt went wrong."I think the campaign was winnable, and we lost," Jamie Wareham, a Washington, D.C., lawyer, told NPR's Steve Inskeep on Tuesday. Wareham donated more than $40,000 to Right to Rise USA and helped the group rake in cash from other donors.Questions abound about whether it was the campaign, the superPAC or, as is usually the case, the candidate himself who was to blame. Bush has been criticized for being too slow to respond to a campaign that was different from the one he — and almost everyone else — expected. No one foresaw the political force Donald Trump would be, and Bush —As Bush Campaign Goes Down, The Knives Come Outhttp://kuer.org/post/where-did-all-jeb-bush-superpac-money-go
74315 as http://kuer.orgTue, 23 Feb 2016 11:00:00 +0000As Bush Campaign Goes Down, The Knives Come OutPeter OverbyThe Takeaways:Republican candidates raised more than $227 million in 2015, less than the GOP field raised in 2011.The year-end reports include the first disclosure of big money from Donald Trump and reveal the precarious state of Jeb Bush's White House bid.Some wealthy conservative donors, including Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson, haven't put their money behind any GOP candidate yet. Big donors on the Democratic side are behind Hillary Clinton.Bernie Sanders pulled in more small contributions than any of them: $54.1 million of his total $73.5 million.As presidential candidates crisscrossed Iowa just before caucus day, their campaign committees and friendly superPACs disclosed how much they raised and spent in 2015.The reports included the first disclosure of big money from Republican front-runner Donald Trump — $12.6 million — and the precarious state of Jeb Bush's White House bid: his campaign finished the year with $7.6 million in the bank, while the superPAC Right To Rise USA2015 Brought Big Money For Clinton And Bush; Sanders Led In Small Contributionshttp://kuer.org/post/2015-brought-big-money-clinton-and-bush-sanders-led-small-contributions
73413 as http://kuer.orgMon, 01 Feb 2016 17:30:00 +00002015 Brought Big Money For Clinton And Bush; Sanders Led In Small ContributionsPeter OverbyUpdate at at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday: Sen. Ted Cruz gave the Federal Election Commission an accounting of his campaign loans Thursday evening. The Cruz for Senate treasurer acknowledged in a letter that Cruz's loans to the campaign were underwritten by a margin loan from Goldman Sachs, where his wife is a managing director, and a line of credit from Citibank. The letter repeated Cruz's contention that the campaign loans were "personal loans from Senator Ted Cruz." It termed the Goldman and Citi funds "underlying loans." The letter was "to supplement the public record," it said. It did not include an FEC form to disclose "loans and lines of credit from lending institutions." That form requires details about guarantors, collateral and pledges, plus the signatures of the campaign treasurer and a representative of the lending institution.The original post follows:Ted Cruz charged into national politics in 2012, when he burst from the Tea Party right to take down a Texas establishmentThe Ted Cruz Goldman Sachs Loan, Explainedhttp://kuer.org/post/ted-cruz-goldman-sachs-loan-explained
72705 as http://kuer.orgThu, 14 Jan 2016 23:16:00 +0000The Ted Cruz Goldman Sachs Loan, Explained